Stalin’s Professor

NR special academic lowlights elude that students are either unable to handle the responsibility of making decisions or unworthy of having it. But our challenge is to persevere.”

Kohn reserves his deepest scorn not for the troglodytes—Christians, businessmen, conservatives—but for his half-hearted allies, especially wealthy liberals. These “Volvo vigilantes,” consumed with unhealthy expectations for their children’s success, are omnipresent in protests to restore skills-and-drills, graded performance, and high-stakes tests. “They may be pro-choice and avid recyclers,” he complains, “with nothing good to say about the likes of Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh; yet on educational issues they are, perhaps unwittingly, making common cause with, and furthering the agenda of, the Far Right.”

About the Author

David Pryce-Jones

David Pryce-Jones (1936–2025) was a British author and commentator and served as a senior editor of National Review.

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NR special academic lowlights elude that students are either unable to handle the responsibility of making decisions or unworthy of having it. But our challenge is to persevere.”

Kohn reserves his deepest scorn not for the troglodytes—Christians, businessmen, conservatives—but for his half-hearted allies, especially wealthy liberals. These “Volvo vigilantes,” consumed with unhealthy expectations for their children’s success, are omnipresent in protests to restore skills-and-drills, graded performance, and high-stakes tests. “They may be pro-choice and avid recyclers,” he complains, “with nothing good to say about the likes of Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh; yet on educational issues they are, perhaps unwittingly, making common cause with, and furthering the agenda of, the Far Right.”